Burke, fired from his post as Toronto GM in January, was praised for the team he constructed for the 2010 games in Vancouver, relying on a younger, albeit largely untested internationally group — many of which were making their senior team debuts.

“It’s going to be a different generation of players that a lot of people in the U.S. aren’t going to be able to recognize,” Burke said at the time. “For some of these guys, it will be their first foray onto the international stage. I think we may have some names that people won’t recognize because we need some sand in the lineup.”

The Americans proceeded to cruise through the opening group stage, posting a perfect 3-0-0 record while outscoring opponents — which included Canada — by a combined 14-5 score.

From there, the Americans defeated Switzerland 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Finland 6-1 in the semis to meet Canada in the gold medal game, which the Canadians won in overtime.

I always found it curious that current NHL GMs can be a national team gm. I didn’t people with authority were allowed to talk to other teams players. Or is it just the NFL that’s uber sensitive to tampering?

I have a hell of a lot of respect for Brian Burke and I think it discredits the work he has done to change the direction of National Team and give them an identity. It would be a mistake to not at least have him on board as an assistant GM.